NBA President Attends Eastern Bar Forum's Quarterly Meeting, Reiterates the Need for the NBA and its Constituent Partners to Continue in Their Roles as Defenders of Justice and the Rule of Law
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) – Olumide Akpata, attended the quarterly meeting of the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF), which took place in Aba, Abia State on the 5th of December 2020.
This was disclosed by Dr. Rapulu Nduka, the Publicity Secretary of the NBA in a Statement.
The quarterly meeting had in attendance, the Governor of Abia State – H.E. Okezie Ikpeazu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Anthony Agbazuere, The Chief Judge of Abia State Abia, Hon. Justice Onuoha Igwe, Chairman of the EBF Governing Council, S.O. Long-Williams, Secretary of the EBF Governing Council, Sir Ray Akanwa, NBA Financial Secretary who is also EBF Publicity Secretary, Nnamdi Anagor, Chairmen of Branches of the NBA that make up the EBF and a host of EBF members.
During the course of the proceedings, Akpata promised the Forum, that the leadership of the NBA will continue to enthrone inclusiveness, while fulfilling its mandate to its members and the larger society.
The NBA President pointed out that through overt and covert actions of several actors at all levels of government, it is hard to resist the nagging feeling that civil liberties and democratic norms and tenets, including the rights to freedom of expression and the free press as well as the presumption of innocence, are under attack in ways never experienced before in Nigeria’s democratic experience .
Hence, he called for the active support of the EBF in holding power to account and securing justice for the oppressed.
Akpata further harped on the need to build the capacity of members of the NBA by assisting the members to diversify their practice areas and methods, deepening competencies and achieving specialisation among them, and carving out distinct niches so as to expand the horizon of legal practice in Nigeria, which in turn will create more wealth and career options for the coming generation of lawyers.
